New Zizzle Atari Home Pinball Machine

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Wed, 06/03/2009 - 9:43am — Bill Loguidice

The Pinball Blog has a short write-up on an apparently new home pinball machine from Zizzle, this time with a classic Atari theme. It looks great, and by my calculations, will be their third generation product. If you remember, I have the first generation model, shown in the photo at the bottom of this blog post. The second generation added a few minor improvements, including more environmental lighting. Both models sold for between $100 - $500 depending upon when and where you were able to score one.

I'm not sure what this latest model adds, if anything, over the previous generation, but one obvious disappointment is that the board layout is exactly the same as all other previous models of Marvel and Pirates of the Caribbean machines. While the board was designed by top pinball machine pros - and it shows in the amazing value-to-quality ratio of what is really just a high end toy - it's disappointing they haven't used the long gap between releases to come up with a new board layout, or at minimum a fancier version of the original design. There's a real opportunity there for people like me who own and enjoy an earlier Zizzle machine, but would only consider an upgrade or addition for something truly different. In any case, I'm sure the roughly 3/4 scale machine with realistic pinball action will still be worth it, but for existing owners, even with the tempting Atari theme, it's probably a pass. As expected, though, we'll be keeping an eye on this one...

A photo of my first generation Zizzle Marvel Heroes pinball machine from January 2009. By Monday, where you see the toy slot machine, will be a Midway TouchMaster 5000.

More from John Popadiuk seems to clarify it's paper art prints mounted to a basic G2 came for review and art check as an idea of what it may look like!

Hey, Nick. So you're saying that they took a second generation model and just mocked up the art? In your opinion then is there the possibility that they'll possibly do something a bit different with the playfield?

My gut (without any info at all) says "no", they won't change the layout. They probably already put enough R&D into the thing versus their return on investment and already have a good design with the G2. They're probably banking on the Atari license to help move units, which is probably what I would do if I were in their business shoes. Hopefully if it's a success, that might mean they would do a new generation that would feature a new layout and some more tweaks.

I know I'd be happy to pay $500 for a much more sophisticated unit, somewhere in the sweet spot between the current design and a full blown machine, though of course I believe it already lists for that anyway (or was it $400?), with a street price generally in the $200 - $250 range.

Yes correct there are no design changes on the playfield except for the asteroid. The art and music / sfx package are new...and actually very retro. Old Atari video game sounds pumping out of the Zizzle backbox. I am already making room for one in my rec room!